Assisted OS Installation With Sun Installation Assistant (SIA)

SIA makes operating system installation easy. With SIA, all you need to begin is a licensed copy of Linux or Windows OS distribution media supported for your server. All software and required server-specific drivers are supplied by SIA. With a graphical wizard interface and flexible installation options, SIA brings simplicity, speed, and reliability to your server deployments.

To use SIA, simply boot the SIA program from the server's CD drive, a USB flash drive, or from a network image. Check for the latest SIA updates available. Select your OS distribution from the menu and follow the on-screen instructions. SIA scans your system to ensure that it has the drivers it needs to configure your server components[1]. It also provides you the option of having SIA check for the latest drivers available. SIA will prompt you for the appropriate media as needed and any other required information during the OS installation process (such as license keys).

Note - [1] Some option card drivers are downloaded to the server, but require manual installation. Feature enhancements are made to SIA regularly; therefore, you should check the SIA information page for the latest SIA updates and supported features http://www.sun.com/systemmanagement/sia.jsp.

SIA Task Overview

Perform an assisted installation of a Linux or Windows operating system on your Sun x86 server from Oracle. SIA provides the appropriate drivers and platform-specific software, eliminating the need to create a separate driver disk.

Optionally recover from a corrupt or inaccessible ILOM service processor.

How to Obtain SIA

SIA ships with most x86 Oracle server platforms and is available in CD format or a web download. Regular updates are made available to ensure that the latest OS versions are supported. You can download, per your platform server, the latest version of SIA at:

SIA Documentation Resources

If you have determined that you want to install a Windows or Linux operating system on your x86 server using SIA, refer to the following resources for detailed installation instructions and forum discussions.